iZotope’s Vinyl plugin gets a 20th anniversary makeover

Over the years, iZotope without question has come a long way as a company. Since its launch 20 years ago, it has become known as the premier developer for audio repair. Of course, there are many other impressive products iZotope has coined over the years. But through it all, its original Vinyl plugin to this day remains a tried-and-true classic free plugin for lo-fi sounds. Now, in celebrating the important 20-year milestone as a company, iZotope gave Vinyl an update. This mostly includes a modernized look, but some new features have been newly included as well. Here’s everything you’ll find in the newly updated, free-to-download iZotope Vinyl.

iZotope Vinyl 2020 Update

When you first open up the latest version of iZotope Vinyl, the very first thing that hits you is a complete visual overhaul. Of course, since its launch in 2000, iZotope has developed a brand for itself. This includes standards in color palettes, as well as typical UI designs across all of its more recent plugins. Naturally, iZotope’s first priority was to bring its first child from the year 2000 into 2020. Now, when loading Vinyl onto a track, users will see a virtual turntable and record that spins according to its settings. Above that, is now home to the plugin’s year selector. Similarly to the original, this is where producers can “age” the sound of the vinyl effect to as far back as 1930. Underneath this are the parameters to adjust the ‘RPM’ setting, ‘Spindown,’ ‘Lo-Fi,’ and wear amount.

The remaining settings for iZotope Vinyl are located to the right. Here, the plugin houses its mechanical and electrical noise features in orange bubbles at the top with graphics underneath. The ‘dust,’ ‘scratch,’ and ‘warp’ features are the only settings set to the similar long-throw faders as the software’s classic look. Finally, two gain knobs, and one model knob relative to these three settings are underneath each of them.

Overall, we see only a handful of particularly ‘new’ features with this Vinyl plugin update. However, the complete layout update certainly delivers enough of a ‘new’ feeling to compensate. iZotope Vinyl, same as before, is available as a free download from iZotope’s website. Here, one can find more information on the full specifications as well. But don’t ponder on this for too long. The fact alone that this free plugin is still widely popular after twenty years should serve as reason enough to grab a copy for yourself.